Coronavirus | Featured Stories

By Beth Stibal |

Palm Beach County Prepares to Offer $60 Million in Business Grants

Palm Beach County is preparing to distriubute $60 million in grants for businesses that was been hurt by the ongoing pandemic. An online application portal will be available beginning at 8 a.m. Friday at discover.pbcgov.org.

However, there are some catches.

The county is planning to give $50 million, from the $261 million it received from the CARES Act, for businesses with 25 employees or fewer. The other $10 million will go to businesses with more than 25 employees.

The grants may not exceed $25,000, in order to accommodate at least 2,000 small businesses and at least 400 businesses that have more than 25 employees. The amount provided will depend on the business’ specific line-item expenses over a six-month period.

A paper application will be available in case the online portal fails.

“We understand businesses are hurting, and we’re working as diligently to get everything prepared to make this process user friendly for the applicants,” says county administrator Verdenia Baker.

In order to be eligible, businesses must be located within the county limits, cannot be publicly traded, cannot be a nonprofit and must have operated from at least Oct. 1 through Feb. 29.

Additionally, small businesses cannot exceed $3 million in gross receipts or sales, and businesses with more than 25 employees cannot exceed $5 million in sales in order to be eligible.

Business owners will be required to provide an active Palm Beach County Business Tax Receipt, a copy of the active filing with the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations as seen on sunbiz.org, as well as financial documents such as tax returns and payroll reports.

The money can be used for payroll, rent, utilities and other expenses that have developed during the pandemic. The money must be used by Dec. 30.

Businesses that have received $25,000 or more from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, or other forgivable loans, are not eligible for a county grant.

In addition, businesses that have received less than $25,000 from the PPP or other forgivable loans will have that amount deducted from their maximum eligible award.

Officials estimated it may take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete the application.